Thank You's
by moletart
Summary: Random one-shots centering around the phrase "thank you". A study of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday's relationship throughout their time together, told from both of their perspectives.
1. Waiting Up

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Waiting Up/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He smelled of whisky and opium when he finally sauntered into the bedroom at whatever ungodly hour it was. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I had waited up. Not that I had been worried. Doc was a big boy who could clean up his own messes. But still. I had waited. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Through a cracked eye, I watched his drunken fingers fumble with his trouser buttons in the dark. Several long moments of silence passed, cut only by the shuffling of fabric against fabric, as he struggled to undress himself. Finally, I heard the last clasp pop and Doc let out a triumphant sigh. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Humming contently to himself, he swaggered over to the lounge chair in the corner and flung his clothes over the arm. I blinked lazily and stifled a yawn, comforted by the familiar tune. Abruptly, Doc's humming escalated into a wheeze, as he was overcome with a coughing fit. Suddenly, I was wide awake. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a bad one. He stumbled forward, eyes squeezed shut, wrinkled face hacking into his arm. Then, he lost his footing completely. I thought for sure Doc was about to fall flat on his face before I could get out of bed to catch him. Then, I'd have to take him down to the town physician's house to see if he'd busted his nose again. That'd make it the second time in a month he would have to treat a drunk, naked gunslinger in the middle of the night. Nobody wanted this to become a habit, least of all me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Luckily, he caught himself on the bookcase and leaned against the wall until the fit subsided. He rested there for a good, long while, catching his breath and regaining his composure. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm sure he was aware of his audience by now, but I don't blame him for refusing to acknowledge me just yet. Moments like this were private. I was proud man. I understood. He was having a closed conversation with the Devil and God and who knows who else. It wasn't my business to go poking my head into the middle of it. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He was getting worse. I tried not to think about it, but in fragile times like this I was reminded: John Henry Holliday was mortal, and he was dying./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I knew the last thing he was looking for was pity, so I didn't give it to him; I pitied myself, more than anything. On the good days, I made him laugh and on the bad days, I made him laugh, too. Or, he made me laugh. Doc was always good for a laugh./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"After a short eternity, he pushed himself off the wall and staggered over to the bed. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I closed my eyes and felt the bed shift under his weight. The sheet slid across me as he covered himself haphazardly. I could tell he was tired. I wriggled myself closer and adjusted the sheet so that it was adequately blanketing both of us. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thank you, Wyatt," he rasped./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't mention it," I mumbled into his neck, already feeling myself drift off to sleep. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"We were both tired./p


	2. That Damn Handlebar

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That Damn Handlebar /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""If you pout one more time, Wyatt Earp, I will be inclined to snip off more than that mop you call a mustache."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I said it and I meant business. I was tired of looking at the damned thing. I had already explained to Wyatt that if he did not get his facial hair under control, I would dispose of it myself, and I don't bluff. Unless I am playing poker, in which case, my father always taught me that it's not cheating if you don't get caught. And I never get caught./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Well, tell me this, Doc: why do you get to keep yours, but mine's gotta go?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Because mine is the sensible mark of a Southern gentleman, whereas yours is an affront to nature," I smiled wolfishly. Torturing Wyatt is one of my favorite hobbies, and I take personal pride in knowing it is also one of my specialties./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He groaned and rolled his eyes. I clasped the razor./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Shall we proceed?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Interpreting his silence as begrudging acceptance, I went to work, whistling Dixie. I know my whistling gets on people's nerves, which is exactly why I did it./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"For a little while, I could feel the resentment radiating off of him- I always could read the Earp brothers like books, as delightfully simple as they are -but, as it turned out, shaving another man's mustache is a very intimate process./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"About three strokes in, and Wyatt's expression had already relaxed, along with his disposition. Two baby blues stared fondly back at me./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His hand reached up to cup mine. I let him clutch it for a moment, then broke away to continue shaving him, careful to avoid slicing one of his fingers off. His palm still lingered above my preoccupied hand. Finally, he got it out of the way- as out of the way as an Earp could get -by placing it on my free hand. He guided my spare hand to his cheek and pressed it against him, leaning into the touch./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know, I wouldn't trust anyone else to do this," he murmured, smiling./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth. "I know."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I took a final swipe and the deed was done. I held up a mirror to show him the final product. A bald lipped, beautiful man stared back at us./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He laughed. "You really do have the steadiest hands in the West, Doc."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span id="docs-internal-guid-627e2133-98e6-53df-846a-f533c17257a0" span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"I smirked, "Why, thank you, Wyatt."/span/span/p 


	3. The Last Dance

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Last Dance/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The night was winding down to an end. The music slowly decreased in tempo and volume with each passing minute, as the band grew bored with the scene. All the young, eligible bachelors and pretty, little dames had paired up and danced their hearts' contents away hours ago. The last sprinkling of couples that lingered on the floor seemed far too lost in each other to get the hint. For a change, I was not among them./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Doc Holliday step outside, escaping onto the balcony to breathe in the cool night air. Sometimes all he needed was a breath of fresh air./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Taking a quick glance around the ballroom, I observed that my presence would not be missed, so I decided to join him./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A gentle breeze was refreshing after a night cooped up in the stuffy dance hall. The full moon hung in the clear sky above, illuminating everything with its dull blue glow. The crickets hissed and a coyote cried from some far off plateau, but, aside from the nature, the night was quiet. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I found Doc leaning over the railing, having a smoke. He looked devilish and dastardly, alone in the dark, contemplating as he was. It was no secret that he wasn't the most popular man in town, and he was always finding ways to further corrode his reputation. But, at that moment, through a friend's eyes, he looked almost peaceful./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I sauntered over and planted myself next to him, back against the rail. He cocked his head up and took a drag./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Howdy," I said./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He replied with a puff of smoke in my face. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While I was hacking a lung up, Doc whirled around and flicked his cigarette onto the porch, stamping it out with the heel of his boot. I swiped a tear or two away and heard him cough out a laugh./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm trying to quit. Ain't that the funniest thing you've ever heard?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah, Doc. Real funny."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He flashed me a melancholy smile. I grimaced back. Something in my gut told me this conversation was about to go to a dark place./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you ever think about death, Wyatt?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And there it was./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sometimes," I began. "I think about Morgan. I think about the men I've killed. The men I'm going to kill." The air didn't seem so refreshing anymore. It was just cold. I suppressed a shiver./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you ever think about me?" /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Suddenly, we were the last two living things on the face of the earth. Time stopped and all was still. No one breathed./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sometimes." My voice was almost inaudible./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'd been expecting this conversation for a long time. Doc was sick. He knew it. I knew it. He knew that I knew it. Premeditation didn't make me feel any better. I still felt like someone had punched me in the gut./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Doc pressed his his hand over mine. I had the urge to pull away, but the sudden warmth felt nice, so I didn't. Instead, I turned to face him and our eyes met. He squeezed my hand./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I think about you, too," he said softly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"My mind was racing. I didn't know what to think. Our little chat had adventured into unknown territory; we were off the map. I had never thought of Doc like that. I'd never thought of any man that way before. Still, his hand was very warm. And I was very lonely./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The slow tune of the band's final song wafted out of a cracked window, filling the silence that had fallen between us./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Doc straightened up and stretched his legs. He held out his hand./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Care to dance?" he proposed with his usual Southern charm./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I hesitated. What did this mean? Did it have to mean anything? And so what if it did? It wasn't like I had anyone else begging to dance with me. My wife hated me. My mistress had abandoned me. Doc was all I had left./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"So, I took him up on his offer./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We had an awkward start at first, both of us used to leading, but soon we found our rhythm. Doc let me take over, his leaner frame fitting better in the woman's role. Although, he'd never admit to that later./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We swayed to and fro, allowing the music to encompass us. Doc stepped closer to me, resting his head on my shoulder. I didn't stop him. I didn't want to. He smelled expensive, like imported cigarettes and well aged wine. I leaned my head against his and breathed him in./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I could feel his lungs expanding and contracting against my chest. His breaths were shallow and slow. He was docile./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I had never seen Doc like this before. In a shootout, with guns blazing and a crooked smirk plastered to his face, he was like a Spartan warrior. Even on his bad days, when he looked like death, he still had this nerve about him that could piss off the friendliest family man. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But, in my arms he seemed so small. So fragile. I felt a sudden urge to protect him. I never wanted to let him go./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do you think I'll see a light at the end of my tunnel, Wyatt?" he whispered into my ear./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know, Doc. When you find out, could you tell me?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He chuckled and kissed my cheek before pulling away, just as the song came to a close./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Thank you. I needed this."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So did I. It was a mutual gain."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"span style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Alegreya; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I decided that whatever "this" was, I could get used to it./span  
/p 


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